This monstrosity was saved under the name ‘ugly cat’ and was from a real-life story that Gareth Brookes recounted to me (it wasn’t about him). It was originally part of my banal pig funnies where i did a three-panel gag strip every day for a month way back in 2007 and it didn’t have a title. On the comments, Gary Bainbridge described it as ‘the untitled cat one’ and the name stuck. That’s why all these characters have this nonsensical name.

Next, the above strip was a strip for MEAT magazine where the idea of Untitled Cat wandering through bizarre landscapes started to materialize (again the strip didnt have a title). We never saw John again, and Cat’s character was to become a bit more robust.

The above strip is from Banal Pig Comic #4 and this is where Untitled Cat’s character and look (obnoxious and fat) starts to take shape. The ghost (untitled ghost, of course), features in the story of Untitled Ape’s Epic Adventure too, and this strip can read as part of that narrative if you really want to.

Here’s the first appearance of Untitled Ape alongside Untitled Cat. This was deliberately unfinished and I was never that happy with it, but the elements are there- Cat riding on Ape’s back, the galloping and screaming, but as with Cat’s first outing, Ape looks horrendous.

I did this for the Observer Jonathan Cape competition around 2009. As you can see we’re getting into the fantastical territory that we’d see more of in UAEA. At the time, my pal Gareth Brookes was obsessed with cryptozoology and duendes so that was what this was all about.

The story of UAEA was taking shape when I produced this Untitled Ape spinoff for Banal Pig’s Showcase back in 2010. There’s some good drawings in here that point to elements of the book, like the lightning, the boat and the munching a guy’s head, but some of it is not really consistent with the final narrative of the graphic novel.

Ah, here we go! A strip for the first Comix Reader and all the elements are starting to come together- a more streamlined Ape, a pointless quest and a trek across various landscapes. This became the blueprint for Untitled Ape’s Epic Adventure, which began as a webcomic in 2011, and five years later (another story, which I might tell soon) it’s now a lovely book, and I’m very much looking forward to it finally being out in the world, so please look out for it and let me know what you think…

Firstly, something BRAND NEW, my Street Fighter 2 From Memory Poster, which is available to buy as an A4 or A3 print here:

And you can also get it as part of my Christmas Megabundles deal, where you can have a poster, 2 comics, a sketch and extras for only £12, or 3 comics with lots of extra biz for only a tenner! Here’s a pic, all the details here:

In other major news, Manly Boys and Comely Girls were officially launched by Avery Hill Publishing at Thought Bubble last weekend, which went down really well – thanks to everyone that bought a copy. They look great, and will be IS available to buy from Avery Hill’s websitevery shortly NOW!

Things have been quiet round here for a while eh? Well, I’ve been hard at work on A NEW COMIC, that’s right, and it’s nearly finished. It’s the follow up to Manly Boys which came out in 2009, and if you scour the archives no doubt you will see many a mention of this, which myself and my dear old chum Gareth Van Brookes have had in mind for the last five years. It’s called Comely Girls, here’s a few random previews:

As with Manly Boys, it’s a collaboration between me and Gareth, and it’s a pastiche of old girls’ comics, and how they were stupid and ignorant back in the old days (not like the utopian society of today). We should be having a nice reprint of Manly Boys to accompany it, expect full details very soon…

Also, here’s my latest one hour commission:

Have a look here if you want to commission me. I’ve had to put the basic price up to £25, but this is just to cover p&p and that, I’ll do you an extra couple of minutes to make up for it….

Next on the agenda is my monsters comic, which could happen very soon or never so keep your eyes peeled….POOM!

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The Banal Pig Blog Archive 2006-present

This is the complete banal pig archive from the last decade or so. Please note this has been moved over from my old website so some of the weblinks don't work anymore. Please feel free to email me at banalpig at gmail.com if you'd like to know more.